Consumer forum decides compliant after 14 years

District Consumer Forum Srinagar has imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on a computer education institute for causing mental agony to a student who was denied refund of tuition fee after he had decided not to join the college 14 years ago.

A bench of the Forum comprising its president Muhammad Ashraf Malik (District and Sessions Judge) and member Advocate Farah Deeba directed CASET College of Computer Sciences, Karan Nagar, to refund Rs 19,000 along with the annual interest rate of 10 percent to Shah Faheem of Ashajipora Anantnag. The amount would attract the interest from 01-01-2004 till its realization by the complainant.

The Forum also directed the college to pay litigation charges of Rs 10000 to Shah.

The college has to pay the entire amount to the complainant within a month after it receives the order.

If the amount, the Forum said, is not paid within the stipulated time, then Rs 50,000 fine and Rs 10,000 litigation charges would also carry 10 percent interest from the date of default till its realization.

In his complaint filed in 2003, Faheem, had said that he appeared in the Common Entrance Test conducted by BOPEE and was allotted a seat in CASET College of Computer Sciences, Karan Nagar, here for pursuing the BCA course.

The complainant through his counsel Arshad Andrabi said that he had deposited Rs 20,000 as tuition fee with the college. He had also filed original copies of matriculation and higher secondary part II certificates.

He said while he was evaluating different career options, it transpired to him that the college had a “poor academic record” and was more commercial.

For this reason, the complainant said, he changed his mind and chose not to join the college.

Consequently, Shah said, he approached the college with a written plea seeking refund of his tuition fee and return of original certificates, which, he contended, was declined by the college authorities.

“The evidence and the material let in by the complainant would divulge that after making the decision he did not attend the classes in the BCA Course,” the Forum said, observing the complainant has not attended the college a single day and withdrew his candidature soon after the deposition of the tuition fee.

The Forum said: “Nowhere is it the case of the college that the seat allotted to the compliant was kept vacant throughout the academic session resulting into loss to it”.

It said in spite of all this, the college failed to refund the tuition fee to the complainant.